Duke’s Defense Proves To Be Too Much for No. 17 Syracuse

By Andrew Della Piana | @dellie_5

This season, Duke women’s basketball prides itself at the defensive end of the floor, allowing the least points per game in the ACC. No. 17 Syracuse felt that pressure all night long, and was held to its lowest scoring total of the campaign in a 58-45 loss. The Blue Devils caused all sorts of problems for the Orange offense, as they shot just 25% from the field. For head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, the message is simple: it’s a chance to reset and regroup.

“Right now we’re 22 and 5, and we’re not saying it’s a bad year; we just didn’t play well, we didn’t play hard, and we didn’t play with a lot of fight, and we’re going to have to figure out that answer, and I think there’s a lot going on with this team right now, and it’s not that they’re dividing; I think they’re tired.”

“We win and we learn right, we win and we learn and it can help us. It’s going to help us because we weren’t going to practice tomorrow but we will practice tomorrow because we should have a lot of energy. Had we won we wouldn’t have practiced because it’s a lot you know.”

The Orange have now yet to beat the Blue Devils in 5 years. On Sunday, Syracuse can flip the script vs an opponent it has dominated in Pittsburgh. SU has won the last 25 meetings against Pitt, its most over any ACC opponent. 

aedellap@syr.edu | @dellie_5